I, like nearly all lawyers, have had cases where judges made bad rulings. Bizarre rulings. Incomprehensible rulings. Rulings completely unmoored from either the facts or the law. But I can safely say that in nearly ten years of practice, I have never seen a judge stomp out of the courtroom and flat-out refuse to rule, as Judge Barbara Walther did Friday in the increasingly unhinged FLDS case. If you don’t want to make the hard calls, especially when the heat is on, then don’t run for judge. More from the Common Room.

Yes, if they are charged with felonies. District Courts in Texas are usually courts of general jurisdiction, meaning they hear felony criminal cases, civil cases, and family law cases. If that does happen, though, I expect a rash of motions to recuse and motions for change of venue.